Sharma bowls India to victory over England

LONDON: Ishant Sharma took seven wickets as India ended a run of 15 Tests without an away victory courtesy of a 95-run win over England at Lord´s on Monday.

This victory, only India´s second in 17 Tests at Lord´s, put the tourists 1-0 up in the five-match series after the drawn opener at Trent Bridge. Meanwhile this result extended England´s run without a Test win to 10 matches.

England, chasing 319 for victory, were bowled out for 223 with paceman Sharma taking five for 24 in 33 balls either side of lunch as the hosts demonstrated an alarming weakness against the short ball. The slump saw England, who had been 173 for four, lose their last six wickets for 50 runs.
Sharma´s final figures of seven for 74 were his best in Tests, surpassing the 25-year-old´s six for 51 against New Zealand in Wellington earlier this year.

England resumed Monday on 105 for four, having only three times in their history made more than 300 in the fourth innings to win a Test. And only once before had a side made more batting last to win a Test at Lord´s, with the West Indies piling up 344 for one against England back in 1984 thanks to a brilliant double century by Gordon Greenidge.

But on the stroke of lunch, England were 173 for four with Joe Root and Moeen Ali holding firm. However, to the very last ball of the session, Ali turned his head away from a Sharma bouncer and gloved a simple catch to Cheteshwar Pujara at short leg. It was the end of his painstaking, three-hour, 39 and a fifth-wicket stand of 101 with Root, then unbeaten on 52.

Wicketkeeper Matt Prior, who has been having a torrid season behind the stumps, decided to hook Sharma, with several men positioned for the shot deep on the legside, but didn´t get over the top of the ball and duly picked out Murali Vijay at mid-wicket. Ben Stokes then fell for a duck when he miscued an intended pull to Pujara at wide mid-on.

England´s hopes of a draw now rested with Root but on 66 he too couldn´t resist a bouncer, hooking Sharma straight to Stuart Binny at deep backward square leg.

Sharma was nowhere near as quick but, with England donating their wickets, he didn´t need to be. Stuart Broad also failed to cope with a rising delivery, gloving Sharma down the legside to India captain and wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni to leave England on the brink of defeat at 216 for nine.

The match ended when James Anderson was run out by Ravindra Jadeja´s direct hit, with the two players both facing a possible ban from matches in the rest of this series following their alleged confrontation in the drawn first Test at Trent Bridge.